Automatic safety-crank and gear-shift for automobiles.



P. H. ARNSBURGERr AUTOMATIC SAFETY CRANK AND GEAR SHIFT FOR AUTOMOBILES. APPLICATION FILED 11110.14, 1911.

1 077 50 2/ Patented N0v.4, 1913.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH KL-WASHINGTON, D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT @FFIQE.

FREDERICK H. ARNSBURGER, GE STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 VTILLIAIVI J. BUNDLE, 0F STQCHTON, CALIFQRNIA.

AUTOMATIC SAFETY-CRANK AND GEAR-SHIFT FOR AUTOMOBILES.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK H. ARNS- BURGER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Stockton, in the county of San Joaquin, State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Safety-Cranks and Gear-Shifts for Automobiles; and I do declare the tol lowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use'the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this application.

This invention relates to improvements in motor vehicles and particularly to the cranking and gear shifting mechanism thereof, the object of the invention being to produce a combined gear shifting and spark setting mechanism which will also automatically control the cranking mechanism in this, that if the motor is connected with the gears or if the spark is advanced then it will be impossible to crank the engine, thus avoiding consequential accidents.

A further object of the invention is to produce a means whereby the gears may be shifted by a small lever disposed above the steering wheel in a manner similar to which the gas and spark levers are disposed.-

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective. for the purposes for which it is designed.

' In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

Figure l is a side elevation of a fragmentary portion of a motor vehicle show-v ing my improved structure applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the safety device applied to the crank of the motor vehicle. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the steering wheel of the vehicle showing my improved shifting levers thereon. Fig. i is a sectional view of the steering wheel and post showing my improved mechanism therein. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of an orificed disk used in the safety cranking mechanism. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a shifting rod.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 14, 1911.

Patented Nov. 4, 1913..

Serial No. 665,869.

hig. 7 is a fragmentary view partly in section, showing a lock for the shifting rods.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, 1 designates the motor vehicle, 2 designates the motor therein and 3 the crank pin having the usual crank handle 4.

In applying my improved structure I pro vide the steering wheel 5 with the usual sleeve or hollow post 6 projecting through the foot board 7 in the usual manner. YVithin this member 6 is disposed a steering rod or post 8 and then for the purpose of my improved invention I provide still another sleeve 9 projecting through the steering wheel 5 and having a fiat disk 10 on its upper end, hinged to which is a disk 11 having a projecting lever 12. Projecting within the member 9 is a member 13 extending above the steering wheel 5 and having a projecting lever 14, which lever 14 and member 13 will be used as the spark ad vancing or retarding mechanism. This is accomplished by means of the motion of the lever 14: for transmitting through the member 13 and the cross bar 15 on the lower end of said member 13, there being a wire or other connecting member 16 leading from one end of the member 15 to the timer on the motor and hence the movement of the member 1 1 will move said timer to advance or retard the spark in the usual manner. On the other end of the member 15 a connecting member 17 connects with a bell crank 18, connected at its other end with a rod 19, movable through guides 20 and 21 and having at one point a disk 22 provided with a central orifice 23. In practice this orifice 23 is normally in alinement with the crank pin 3 when the spark lever l t is in its entirely retarded position, but when the spark is advanced the movement of the lever 14 is transmitted through the member 13, member 15, member 17, member 18, and thence to the member 19 to move the disk 22 to such position as will bring the orifice 23 out of alinement with the crank pin 3 and hence said crank pin 3 cannot be shoved into position to touch the crank shaft of the motor 2 and hence the cranking of the motor with an advance spark is impossible, thus avoiding the accidents which so often occur from backfire of the motor due to the spark being advanced when the motor is cranked. A similar operation of disks takes place when any of the gears are connected with the motor, which operation is permitted by the following structure, to wit; within the member 13 is another sleeve 24 projecting beyond the top of the wheel 5 and having a projecting arm 25 provided with a fork 26; also within the member 24 is a rod 27 projecting above the wheel 5 and having a projecting arm 28 projecting obliquely with respect to the arm '25 and being provided with a fork 29.

In practice the lever 12is used as a shift ing lever for the change of gears of the motor vehicle and this is accomplished by means of the following operation, to-wit; said lever 12 has two neutral positions on the quadrant 30 secured to the disk 10 and by way of example we will presume one of said neutral positions to be at 31, which would be between the position a for reverse gear and position b for low gear,

and the other neutral point we will presume to be 32 between the position 0 forv intermediate gear to the position cl for high gear. In the neutral position 31 the lever 12 normally projects into the fork 29 and when it is desired to throw the gears into reverse gear the lever 12 is moved to the position a, which turns the member 27 and in cidentally a cross bar 41 on its lower end, which pulls on a connecting member 42, which operates the lever 43 of the gear box 36 to throw said gears into reverse connection (this gear mechanism and shifting structure being not shown here for the reason that it is of the usual type and no claim to the same is made by me). When this operation takes place then a connecting member 44 on the other end of the bar 41 moves a bell crank 45, which in turn moves a rod 46, movable in the guides 20 and 21 and provided with a disk 47 having an orifice similar to the orifice 23, which lies in alinement with a pin 3 when the gears are in neutral. position, but which when the above described operation is had is moved out of alinement with said pin 3, thus preventing the cranking of the machine when the gears are in connection with the. motor. Similarly to throw the gears into low gear, lever 12 would be moved to the position b, when the above operation as to the shifting of the disk 47 wouldbe repeated with the exception that the disk 47 would be moved in the opposite direc-' tion. Now when it is desired to shift gears into intermediate or high gear the lever 12 by means of its hinged connection with the disk 10 is lifted from the fork 29 and changed to engage the fork 26, whose neutral position is at 32 and then the lever 12 would be moved to the position 0, which would turn the member 24 and inshifts the gears into intermediate position the guides 20 and 21 and provided with a 1 disk 40, having an orifice similar to the orifice 23 which normally is in alinement,

with the pin 3 and which with the movement of the lever 12 moves out of alinement with. the pin 3 and prevents the cranking of the car while the gears are connected with the motor.

are thrown into high gear and the movement of the disk 40 takes'place the same as before with the exception that it moves Similarly by moving; the lever 12 to the position cl the gears in the opposite direction as will be readily seen. In order to prevent the arms 25 or] 28 and their corresponding forks 26 and 29;

from moving independently of any connection with the lever 12 when said lever is out of engagement with either of said forks, I provide in each of said forks a recessed pin 48 while on the member 10 is a spring pressed block 49 having a beveled shoul der 50 and a pin 51, which normally projects into the recessed pin 48 and holds the" members 25 and 28 stationary when not in engagement with the lever 12, whichever is engaged with either of said forks, then the projecting lug 52 engages the shoulder 50 and moves the block 49 backward, thus disengaging the pin 51 from the recessed pin 48 and leaving the members 25 and 28 free to be moved as described.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such'ax device as substantially fulfils the object of the invention as set forth herein.

While this'specification sets forth in de tailthe present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such devia tions from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and useful and desire to] secure by Letters Patent is:

A device of the character described comprising the combination with a motor hav-x ing a crank shaft and a starting crank adapted to be engaged with said crank shaft, of a guide disposed on each sideof' said starting crank, a third guide spaced from one of said first named guides, a plu-i rality of rods movable through all of said guides, a centrally orificed disk on each rod, 1

such disk being adapted to be moved so that its orifice is in or out of alinement with said starting crank, a bell crank flexibly connected to each rod between said third named guide and one of said first named guides, a plurality of levers, each lever be ing provided with a cross bar, one end of each cross bar being connected with one of said bell cranks, as described.

FREDERICK H. ARNSBURGER.

Witnesses:

STEPHEN N. BLE'WETT, FRANK I'I. CARTER. 7

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

' Washington, D. G. 

